Jordan plug liner



Oct. 11, 1966 Filed Aug. 16, 1965 Fig. l. as

2 Sheets-Sheet l 37 M H :l' F 4 Q O n O Q L O O n 1 O Q Fig.7:

INVENTOR. FRAN K H. RUSSELL ATTORNEYS Oct. 11, 1966 F. H. RUSSELL 3,278,127

JORDAN PLUG LINER Filed Aug. 16, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m FE-g 8. wcfll 2mm; my

INVENTOR. FRANK H. RUSSELL E9 2O P PW ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,278,127 JORDAN PLUG LINER Frank H. Russell, Andover, Mass., assignor to Bolton- Emerson, Inc., Lawrence, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Aug. 16, 1963, Ser. No. 302,600 Claims. (Cl. 241-294) This invention relates to an improved, unsplit, unitary liner, or jacket, for the plug of a Jordan engine.

It has long been customary in the paper art to provide slidably replaceable fillings for the shell of Jordan pulp refiners, such fillings being stationary Within the shell and not subjected to high centrifugal forces. Slidably replaceable liners, or jackets, for the plug of a Jordan refiner have been proposed in a number of patents but, unlike shell fillings, such plug liners are not generally offered, or accepted in the trade. Probably this is for the reason that a Jordan plug rotating at high speed is subjected to such stress and strain that the proposed plug liners, or jackets, have been believed to be, or have been, unable to stand up in use. In any case, it is presently customary in the trade to use plugs having dovetail slots entirely therearound into which correspondingly shaped plug knives are slid and anchored, the knives thus being firmly seated in the body of the plug and incapable of outward displacement.

It will also be understood that a shell filling usually is split so that it can be inserted in the shell of a Jordan and a wedge inserted in the split to expand the filling. A plug liner, on the other hand, is usually an unsplit truncated cone, which may be cast as a one piece sleeve including the knives, as in U.S. Patent 1,467,207 to Strattman of September 4, 1923 or in U.S. Patent 1,854,356 to Wessel of April 19, 1932. An unsplit plug liner may also be assembled by stringing knives on curved rods and then welding the ends of the rods together as in U.S. Patent 2,282,750 to Schueler of May 12, 1942. The accurate assembly of such a liner may be difficult in that the knives will bind unless loosely strung, the rods must be flexed out of circular form during threading and the knives are circumferentially spaced on the rods only by threaded, yieldable wood separators whereby shaping must be performed in a press.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an improved, unsplit Jordan plug liner, or jacket in which the truncated conical shape of the liner is assured by a unitary, integral grid, or skeletonized openwork of flat metal plug knives and circular spacer rings, both the knives and rings having substantial height in radial planes and being welded at each intersection in zones of substantial height.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a skeletonized openwork of knives and circular rings in which the knives and rings are slotted to embrace each other at each welded intersection, thereby firmly locking each other in permanent position regardless of the fillers, or separators therebetween.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rugged, low cost, unsplit plug liner in which flat metal stock is slotted by a simple punching operation to enable the assembly of a unitary, integral truncated, conical openwork of ring and knives welded to each other at the interengaged slots, the knives having drilled or punched holes for anchoring hardenable plastic fillers, or separators.

Other objects and advantages of the plug liner of the invention will be apparent from the claims, the description of the drawings and from the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a slotted full length Jordan plug knife;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the slotted key knife;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a slotted half length Jordan plug knife;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the three slotted, circular, spacer rings of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic side view of a typical punch for forming the slots in the flat metal knives and spacer rings;

FIG. 6 illustrates the step of vertically positioning a key-slotted, mock plug body and encircling the same with the slotted rings;

FIG. 7 is a similar view, showing the step of interengaging the slots of the knives with the slots of the spacer rings and positioning the end rings to form a skeletonized, truncated openwork or grid;

FIG. 8 is a similar view showing the step of welding the knives and rings at the mated slots and welding the ends of the knives to the rings;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view, showing the plug body positioned horizontally and the hardenable plastic filler being introduced into the spaces between the knives and rings, and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view on a smaller scale showing the completed unitary plug liner of the invention being keyed onto the plug body for which it was made.

In FIG. 10, a truncated conical refiner plug 20 is shown, of the Jordan engine type, the plug 20 being mounted on a shaft 21 and having a large end 22, a smooth, curved, exterior face 23 and a small end 24. A single axially, or longitudinally, extending key groove, slot or channel 25 is provided in the curved exterior face 23, the key groove 25 preferably being of rectangular cross section. It is the object of the invention to provide a unitary, unsplit plug liner which will exactly fit the outside of plug 20 and which will withstand the stress of high speed rotation within a Jordan engine. The plug 20 obviously could be used as the inside form or jig around which the liner is assembled but usually the plug is at a paper mill and the manufacture of the liner takes place at a substantial distance from the mill.

A suitable mock plug body 26 is therefore prepared having the exact dimensions of the plug 20 for which the liner is to be made so that the large end 27, smooth, exterior curved face 28, small end 29 and key groove 30 are identical with the corresponding parts 22, 23, 24 and 25.

A plurality of identical, full length Jordan plug knives 32 are then formed of flat metal stock of rectangular cross section, each knife having longitudinally spaced slots such as 33, 34 and 35 therealong, the slots extending inwardly from the lower, or inner edge 36 of the knife at a slight angle so as to be normal to the central longitudinal axis of the plug body when assembled thereon. Each knife 32 is preferably beveled at 37 and 3 8 in the conventional manner and recessed at one end 39 to form the faces 41 and 42 at the large end of the plug. The opposite end of the knife 32 is provided with the end face 43 at the small end of the liner and each knife includes a plurality of axially spaced through holes such as 44 and 45 which may be drilled therein. The faces 42 and 43 are angled parallel to the slots 33, 34 and 35 for the same reason.

A single knife 47 of the set of, for example, about thirty full length knives 32, is identical with the other knives but of greater height as shown in FIG. 2. An integral extension, or key portion 48 is thus formed which fits the key grooves 25 and 30 for preventing relative rotation between the liner and the plug, the key being delineated by a dotted line.

A plurality of half length knives 50 are also provided, for example about thirty, each having a slot 51 corresponding to slot 33, recess 52 and faces 5-3 and 54 corresponding to recess 39 andfaces 41 and 42, end face 55 corresponding to end face 43 and holes 56 corresponding to holes 44 and 45. The term half length is used herein for convenience of description, it being understood that it is customary in the art to alternate short and long knives around the large end of the plug, the short knives usually being half the length of the long knives.

As shown in FIG. 4 preferably three circular spacer rings 58, 59 and 60 are formed of flat metal stock of rectangular cross section, the rings being of progressively increased diameter to conform to the configuration of the truncated conical plug body 26. The large ring 58 includes, for example, sixty circumferentially spaced, identical knife slots such as 61, each slot being radially disposed and preferably equal in depth to the knife slots 33 and 51 whereby the mating and interengaging ofthe slots will cause the knife edges 36 to bottom on the curved face 28 of the plug body. The intermediate ring 59 and the small ring 60, each have, for example, thirty radial slots 62 or 63 identical with slots 61 but circumferentially spaced to engage the twenty-nine full length knives 32 and the full length key knife 47.

As shown in FIG. the slots 33, 34, 35, 51, 61, 62 and 63 are formed by punching with a typical punch 65, thereby avoiding high cost machining operations and permitting the liner to be commercially competitive.

A large end ring 66 having faces 67 and 68 fitting faces 41 and 42 and 53 and 54 of recesses 39 and 52 is also preformed of fiat metal stock and a small end ring 69 having a flat face 70 for abutting the end faces 43 is also preformed of fiat metal stock. The end ring 69 may be welded to an annular flat metal plate 71 having bolt holes 72 to permit the liner to be bolted in threaded holes in the end 24 of the plug 20.

After preforming the above described elements, the next step is the vertical positioning of the mock plug body 26 on its large end 27. Preferably anti-splatter welding compound, indicated at 74, is brushed on the smooth, truncated, conical face 28 of the plug body 26.

The large end ring 66, large spacer ring 58, intermediate spacer ring 59 and small spacer ring 60 are then encircled upon the body 26, in the proper order, as shown in FIG. 6 to lie in their respective horizontal planes.

The key knife 47 is then installed on the spacer rings with the key portion 48 fitted in the keyway 30 and the slots, or notches, of the knife interengaged with the slots, or notches, 61, 62 and 63 of the rings. Thereafter all of the remaining full length and half length knives are assembled around the spacer rings with the mating slots 33, 34, 35 and 51 interengaged in the slots 61, 62 and 63 of the rings and with the knives bottomed on the face 28 of the mock plug 26.

Gravity and the friction of the notches will hold the assembly together but, preferably a pair of outer circular rings 75 and 76 are slipped over the assembly, as shown in FIG. 8, to be sure that each knife is firmly bottomed before and during the welding step. The small end ring 69 and plate 71 are then assembled on the small end of the skeletonized, open-work grid, or assembly, 77.

The slotted knives and slotted spacer rings are then welded together at each intersection, preferably by fillet welds as at 78 in FIGURE 9 and with conventional welding apparatus 79. It should be noted that the welds 78 are along the radial lines of the mated notches extending up the front of each ring at 81, across the top at 82, if

desired, and down the back thereof at 83 whereby welds equal in height to the height of the rings are achieved to assure that the knives will not be centrifugally, or otherwise, displaced. In addition the faces 41, 42, 53 and 54 of the knives are welded as at 84 and 85 to the corresponding faces 67 and 68 of the large end ring 66, the'end faces 43 of the knives are welded as at 86 to the face 70 of the small end ring 69 and the end faces 55 of the half length knives 50 are welded as at 87 to the abutting face 88 of the intermediate spacer ring 59.

After such welding the knife and ring assembly 77 is seen to be a rigid, unitary, truncated, conical openwork, or grid, 89. It is then preferably cooled and removed from the mock plug 26 for the cleaning of both the unit and plug by sandblasting or the like. A release agent is then applied to the mock plug and the cleaned unitary assembly 89 replaced thereon.

As shown in FIGURE 9 the mock plug 26 is then positioned horizontally and a hardenable plastic filler 91,

which may be plastic wood, epoxy resin or the like, is deposited in each space between the rings and knives and extending from the face 28 of plug 26 outwardly to about the level of the outer periphery of the spacer rings 58, 59 and 60. Upon hardening of the plastic 91, into the fillers, or separators, 92 the unitary openwork 89 will be seen to be a completed Jordan plug liner 94 which can be slidably removed from the mock plug 26, shipped to the paper mill and slid onto the plug 20 with a substantially exact fit.

The plastic 91 is received in the holes 44, 45 and 56 of the knives, the lateral flow and hardening thereof firmly anchoring the fillers 92 against displacement due to centrifugal force. It will be noted also that the inner faces 95 of the fillers, the inner edges 36 of the knives and the inner edges 98 of the rings all form a smooth, interior, truncated conical surface on the liner 94 closely fitting and overlying the exterior face 23 of plug 20 with the key 47 seated in keyway 25 and the bolts 96 threaded in the bolt holes 97 of the plug.

When the liner 94 is to fit a new plug of a new Jordan, the plug body will be cast, or otherwise fabricated to the exact dimensions desired. However, when the liner 94 is to be a replacement on a conventional slotted plug, the plug will be machined down to reduced dimensions to eliminate the slots except for a single key groove.

I claim:

1. An unsplit truncated conical unitary plug liner for Jordan engines, said liner comprising:

a plurality of circular spacer rings of progressively increasing diameter axially spaced apart to define a truncated cone, the inner periphery of said rings fitting the exterior of the plug body with which said lining is to be used and the outer periphery of said rings including circumferentially spaced radial, exterior knife slots;

a series of radially disposed knives, circumferentially spaced around said rings, each knife mounted within axially aligned, and successive slots in said rings and having mating radial slots in the inner periphery thereof each embracing one of said rings with the inner edges of said knives in the plane of the inner peripheries of said rings;

welds connecting said knives to said rings at the intersections thereof at said notches to form a skeletonized, unitary, integral truncated conical openwork, and

hardened plastic fillers in the openings of said openwork between said knives and rings.

2. A combination as specified in claim 1 wherein each said ring slot is equal in width to the thickness of said knives and each said knife slot is equal in width to the thickness of said rings;

whereby said knives are firmly supported in radial disposition on said rings when said slots are interengaged.

3. A combination as specified in claim 1 wherein said liner includes a large diameter end ring and an opposite small diameter end ring, and

said opposite ends of said knives are welded to said rings.

4. A combination as specified in claim 1 wherein at least one said knife includes an integral, inwardly projecting key portion for anchoring said liner against rotation relative to the plug body upon which said liner may be mounted.

5. A combination as specified in claim 1 wherein said knives and spacer rings are of fiat metal stock of rectangular cross section, the slots therein are free of machined faces and the slots therein mate with each other at relatively broad, punch type tolerances and allowances.

6. A combination as specified in claim 1 wherein alternate knives are full length and half length of said liner, said half length knives are end welded to one of said spacer rings and each of said knives includes a row of holes therealong for receiving and anchoring, said plastic filler.

7. An unsplit, truncated conical, unitary plug liner for Jordan engines, said liner comprising:

a truncated conical, skeletonized openwork formed of axially-extending, circumferentially-spaced, slotted plug knives and axially-spaced, transversely-extending, slotted, circular spacer rings, said knives and rings being welded together, with each knife slot engaged in a ring slot, into an integral unit;

a circular end ring welded to the knife ends at each opposite end of said unit, and

hardened plastic fillers, anchored in the spacer of said openwork between said rings and the inner portions of said plug knives.

8. An unsplit, truncated conical, unitary plug liner comprising:

a truncated conical metal grid of slotted plug knives and slotted spacer rings, said knives and rings being welded to each other, and having their slots interengaged, at each intersection of said grid;

filler means, in the spaces of said grid, between said rings and knives, and extending from the inner periphery of said grid to the outer periphery of said rings, and

means associated with said knives for anchoring said filler means against outward displacement during rotation of said liner.

9. In combination a truncated conical Jordan engine plug body having a substantially smooth outside curved face with an axially extending knife key groove therein; a truncated conical, unitary, unsplit, plug liner com- 6 prising an integral grid of slotted knives and circular slotted rings welded into a unit with the slots thereof interengaged at each intersection and the spaces of said grid filled with hardened plastic to form a substantially smooth inside curved face fitting the outside face of said plug body, and

an integral, hard metal extension on one knife of said grid, projecting inwardly from said inside curved surface key in the axial slot of said plug body for preventing relative rotation of said liner and body.

16. A bodily transportable, unsplit, unitary truncated conical Jordan plug liner, said liner comprising:

a plurality of plug knives having inside slots and a plurality of circular spacer rings having; outside slots, said knives and rings being welded together with said slots interengaged at each intersection, and

filler means in said liner forming a smooth, truncated conical, inside face with the inside edges of said knives;

the said inside face of said liner exactly conforming to the dimensions of the corresponding face of a Jordan plug body.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,356,278 8/ 1944 Schueler 241-294 2,514,547 7/ 1950 Jones 241-294 2,601,814 7/1952 Larson 241-294 2,612,083 9/1952 Hayes 241-294 2,633,778 4/1953 Stuck 241-294 2,803,411 8/1957 Pollitz 241-294 2,862,424 12/1958 Jones 241-294 3,059,863 10/1962 Johnson 241-294 3,065,920 11/1962 Johnson et a1. 241-294 3,070,866 1/1963 Kastenbein 264-261 3,120,572 2/1964 Shannon 264-261 LESTER M. SWINGLE, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT C. RIORDON, Examiner.

H. F. PEPPER, 1a., Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN UNSPLIT TRUNCATED CONICAL UNITARY PLUG LINER FOR JORDAN ENGINES, SAID LINER COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF CIRCULAR SPACER RINGS OF PROGRESSIVELY INCREASING DIAMETER AXIALLY SPACED APART TO DEFINE A TRUNCATED CONE, THE INNER PERIPHERY OF SAID RINGS FITTING THE EXTERIOR OF THE PLUG BODY WITH WHICH SAID LINING IS TO BE USED AND THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID RINGS INCLUDING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED RADIAL, EXTERIOR KNIFE SLOTS; A SERIES OF RADIALLY DISPOSED KNIVES, CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED AROUND SAID RINGS, EACH KNIFE MOUNTED WITHIN AXIALLY ALIGNED, AND SUCCESSIVE SLOTS IN SAID RINGS AND HAVING MATING RADIAL SLOTS IN THE INNER PERIPHERY THEREOF EACH EMBRACING ONE OF SAID RINGS WITH THE INNER EDGES OF SAID KNIVES IN THE PLANE OF THE INNER PERIPHERIES OF SAID RINGS; WELD CONNECTING SAID KNIVES TO SAID RINGS AT THE INTERSECTIONS THEREOF AT SAID NOTCHES TO FORM A SKELETONIZED, UNITARY, INTEGRAL TRUNCATED CONICAL OPENWORK, AND HARDENED PLASTIC FILTERS IN THE OPENINGS OF SAID OPENWORK BETWEEN SAID KNIVES AND RINGS. 